


Extravagances

by oretsev



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Gen, Post-Canon, Royai Week, just a twinge of angst towards the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-20 21:50:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14902674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oretsev/pseuds/oretsev
Summary: "For the past week, he’s left the office only to return home and unload stacks of paperwork to review from the comfort of his own living room. For all that, though, the company hasn’t been half bad." Roy and Riza work late in anticipation of an important diplomatic summit.





	Extravagances

**Author's Note:**

  * For [StarberryCupcake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarberryCupcake/gifts).



> Takes place some time after the events of Brotherhood/manga, post-Ishvalan restoration.

Printed documents spread across the entirety of Roy Mustang’s dining table, the dark wood scarcely visible between sheets of typewritten memos and policy outlines that had taken over his apartment. With the upcoming diplomatic summit in Creta, there haven’t been nearly enough hours in the day to make the necessary preparations. For the past week, he’s left the office only to return home and unload stacks of paperwork to review from the comfort of his own living room. For all that, though, the company hasn’t been half bad.

  
He reviews his mental list of what he needs to accomplish tonight as he finishes preparing dinner. He can cut himself a little slack, he thinks, give himself a little break on a Friday night. They’ve worked late into the night all week, after all. A quick knock at the door pulls his attention away. He turns the heat down on the stove, wipes his hands, and hurries to open the door.

  
Riza Hawkeye is waiting in the hallway of his apartment building. She’s changed out of her uniform and into the button-front blouse and trousers that have become her off duty staples as of late. Roy groans when he sees the heavy tote bag she’s carrying, no doubt containing updated briefs, reports, and itineraries. Black Hayate is at her side, a sure sign that she intends to stay for quite some time.

  
“For me?” he asks, inclining his head towards the bag. “You shouldn’t have.”

  
“Well, I was always told you should never show up to dinner empty-handed.” She smiles, and he shakes his head gently. It’s been mere hours since he saw her at the office, and yet the sight of her sets him at ease. Letting her through the doorway makes his small apartment feel like home.

  
Hayate trots into the living room, taking a moment to sniff the perimeter before leaping onto the softa.

  
“Hayate!” Riza scolds, fixing him with a heavy stare. Hayate jumps down quickly, instead laying on the floor with his head cushioned on his front paws. His dark eyes look contrite.

  
“You know I don’t mind if he’s on the furniture,” Roy says lightly as he watches Hayate’s tail wag hopefully.

  
“You might not, but he knows he’s not allowed except at home.” Riza eyes the dog warily. “He thinks he’s sneaky, but rules are rules.” She drops the bag on the table with a resounding thud before sauntering into the kitchen where Roy is dipping a finger into a saucepan for a taste.

  
He hisses. “That’s really hot,” he mutters, shaking his hand. Riza arches an eyebrow. Coupled with her pursed lips, he knows she’s thinking that he ought to have known better. He waves her off. “It’s that cream sauce you liked last time.” She hums in appreciation, leaning back against the counter.

  
“So, I’m sure you knew this coming, but just after you left we got those revisions on the border policy from Aerugo...”

  
Roy doesn’t need to look at her to know she’s crossed her arms in front of herself. He groans dramatically. “Food first, I beg of you. Please. Mercy.” She sighs as he opens the oven to remove a pan laiden with chicken and green beans. He sets the pan down carefully before turning to look her her beseechingly. “Captain. Please. It’s a Friday night.”

  
She remains unmoved for a moment before one corner of her mouth tilts upward. “Well, you did get all your paperwork turned in before the main office closed today. You’ve got one hour, and then we really have to get to work.”

 

-

 

Their plates have been sitting empty on the coffee table for hours now, as they had elected to eat in the living room given that the dining table was occupied by various documents. The night beyond the living room window had become heavy and dark as the worked through strategy and policy. Riza had kicked off her boots long ago, stocking feet tucked beneath her on the sofa as she sifted through the agenda for the summit.

  
“We get in sometime around eleven, barring any delays on the train.” Riza’s meticulous itinerary is scheduled down to the minute, with contingencies for a multitude of obstacles. “Would you rather check in to our rooms first, or go straight to the meeting hall? We’re due at three for a press call to speak specifically on the Ishvalan restoration.”

  
Roy taps his pen against the notepad in his hand. “I think we’d better take a bit to freshen up first, if the press will be there. We can be quick though, and still make the meet and greet beforehand. I need to introduce myself to the new trade minister from Aerugo before we go into the meetings.” Riza nods and make a note on her schedule in her looping script.

  
Roy stands and arches his back, squinting against drowsiness. He scoops up the dirty plates and carries them to the kitchen. Leaving the dishes in the sink, he returns to the doorway with a bottle of red wine in his hand. “I know you don’t normally drink,” he says, “but Vanessa sent me home with this last time I visited. Tonight seems as good as any.”

  
“Is that your way of telling me that you’re done for the night?” Riza laughs as Roy gives a cheeky shrug. “I would take a small glass.”

  
He pulls two wine glasses down from the cabinet, part of a beautiful cut glass set from Chris for his last birthday. Riza rises from the sofa and crosses to him. Hayate lifts his head to watch as Roy pours a generous portion for himself and a smaller glass that he hands to Riza.

  
He lifts his glass. “To new relations forged in the west, and the continued strength of those forged at home.”

  
Riza tilts her glass against his and takes a sip. She raises an eyebrow appreciatively. “You know I prefer white, but I don’t mind this at all.” She takes another sip silently, savoring the rare indulgence. Roy glances at her over the rim of his glass. She brushes a strand of her cropped hair behind her ear and catches his eye. He too, is savoring the moment, though it’s not the wine he is reveling in.

  
Riza’s unguarded smile, his own smile appearing unbidden in return. Her boots in a heap at the foot of the coat rack, bag slouching open on the dining table. The heat between them when their shoulders brushed as they pored over a new policy memo, how he knew which clause she would point out before she could even put her opinion into words. The brush of his hand against hers as he handed her the wine glass, the very propinquity of her next to him on the sofa, the light laughter that seemed to only appear when they were alone. These were extravagances, small intimacies, earned slowly over the years through their abnegation and discretion.

  
“This is nice,” Roy says softly. Riza nods in agreement.

  
They don’t have the luxury of calling it anything else.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Royai Day/Week 2018, keeping in mind both the prompt "Propinquity" and leaning heavily on a request for domestic fluff from my dearest Luly. I intended this to be a larger scene, but I really love the note that it wound up ending on! I'm working on better integrating my dialogue with descriptive prose, and they are the perfect characters to practice on as so much of their relationship is cumulative and unspoken. I hope you enjoy! Happy Royai Day!


End file.
